There's a price on your head, Aurora. That ambush wasn't meant for me. It was meant for you."
The words didn't make sense at first.
She lay on the cold marble floor, her breath still ragged from the brutal way he'd claimed her minutes ago. Her thighs ached. Her lips were swollen. Her body still pulsed with the echo of his hands, his voice, his heat.
And now this?
"What are you talking about?" she rasped.
Rafael rose to his feet, fixing his shirt with slow precision — the same calm a man might wear before a kill. His belt slid back into place with a hiss, and he turned toward her with eyes that gave nothing away.
"You heard me."
"No, I didn't." Aurora pulled the robe from the floor, wrapping it around herself even though it barely mattered now. "Why would someone be after me? I'm no one."
"Clearly not," he muttered.
She stared at him, her chest tight. "I was sold, Rafael. Like meat. I don't even know who arranged it. I didn't ask to be here—"
"You don't get to play innocent."
His voice dropped like a blade.
"You think I didn't notice how you reacted to me? You didn't scream when I touched you. You moaned. You liked it. You still like it."
She blinked fast, throat burning. "That doesn't mean I know why someone wants me dead."
He stepped forward, slowly.
She backed up until her spine hit the wall.
Rafael leaned in, one hand braced beside her head, his face inches from hers. His voice was soft now — too soft.
"You were on that auction block for a reason. Girls like you don't just show up out of nowhere. You were delivered, dressed, trained to obey. That's not by accident. Someone wants you close to men like me. You were planted."
"That's not true," she whispered. "I didn't even know who you were until I saw you there."
"Then someone's keeping secrets from both of us."
He ran a hand down her face. His touch was surprisingly gentle — fingers dragging down her cheek to her jaw, then stopping at her throat. His thumb pressed lightly where he had once gripped her.
"You're dangerous, Aurora," he murmured.
"I'm nothing," she said, barely able to breathe.
"You're mine," he corrected. "And I protect what I own. Even if I have to hurt you to do it."
Her stomach twisted.
He turned away.
"Come."
She hesitated. "Where are we going?"
He didn't answer.
She followed him barefoot down a long corridor lit by warm, golden sconces. Everything inside the estate screamed wealth — luxury dripping from every corner — but it felt like a cage. A golden, velvet-draped prison.
He opened a dark wooden door at the end of the hall.
Inside was a bedroom. Not cold like the rest of the house. Warm. Deep mahogany walls. Velvet bedding. A massive fireplace, roaring low.
Her scent was already there.
So was her suitcase.
"You planned this," she breathed.
He nodded. "Of course I did."
She spun toward him, eyes wide. "Why? You could've had any girl—"
"But I wanted you."
He stepped toward her again, pulling the robe open. His fingers traced her bare collarbone, then lower. She gasped when he cupped her breast, teasing her nipple with slow, cruel circles of his thumb.
"You still want to run?"
She didn't answer.
So he kissed her.
It wasn't brutal this time — it was slow. Maddening. He took his time tasting her, teasing her lower lip before sucking it into his mouth. When she moaned softly, his other hand slipped down between her thighs.
"You're soaked again," he whispered. "Is that fear… or want?"
Her knees buckled.
Rafael caught her, lifting her into his arms like she weighed nothing.
"You can lie to yourself, little one. But your body doesn't lie to me."
He tossed her onto the bed and dropped his shirt. The shadows danced across his chest — sculpted, scarred, utterly untouchable. His belt dropped next, and he crawled over her like a predator stalking its prey.
She was already trembling when his tongue slid between her legs.
"Oh—God—" she cried, arching as he sucked her clit, fingers digging into her thighs to keep her still.
"You like that?" he growled between licks.
She nodded, moaning, thighs trembling.
"Good. Because I'm not stopping until you scream."
He devoured her like he needed her to survive. His tongue thrust into her, his lips teasing, biting, claiming until she came hard against his mouth, legs locking around his shoulders.
She sobbed his name.
But Rafael wasn't done.
He flipped her over and slammed into her from behind, one hand fisted in her hair.
"You were made for this," he growled against her ear. "You were made for me."
She came again. And again. She lost track of the stars exploding behind her eyes.
And then he stopped.
Just as he was about to finish, he pulled out.
Aurora gasped, reaching back, desperate. "Rafael—"
But he was already grabbing his gun from the nightstand, voice flat.
"Stay here. Lock the door."
"What's happening now?" she whispered, breathless.
He looked back at her, deadly calm.
"They breached the south gate."